Year 8

Information Events and Progress Evenings

 

Year 8 Progress Evening via SchoolCloud

Thursday 20th January 4pm-6.30pm
Make your appointments online now!

Dear Parents/Carers,

At Bolton St Catherine's Academy we understand the best way for young people to achieve success is by school and home working closely together. As part of this, we are holding our Progress' Evening on Thursday 20th January where your child's subject teachers will be available between 4.00pm – 6.30pm.

Year 8 is a particularly important year as your child will be selecting their GCSE options. This Progress evening is the first of a few events in school that we hold to provide you with the vital information you need to make the correct choices. The Progress Evening will be your first opportunity this year to discuss your child's progress as they move towards starting their GCSEs next year.

This year's Progress Evening will follow the same format as last year as we are still very much in the current climate unable to offer you the opportunity to come into school to speak to your child's teachers so, we are offering you the opportunity to have meetings with staff online using SchoolCloud.

The method for making appointments with staff online is described in the full letter here -

Click here to read instructions how to book appointments - Parents Guide to Booking Appointments on SchoolCloud

Please follow the guide to set yourself up and then book slots with staff. Appointments are time limited to 4 minutes to ensure everyone has access to staff and the system will end them after your timed slot is completed. If you need further conversations with staff then please do not hesitate to contact them individually.

If there is any further assistance you require in terms of accessing remote learning or queries regarding grades please do not hesitate to contact either Mrs Lewis, Miss Butler or Mr Whittaker on the below email address.

llewis@boltonstcatherinesacademy.org.uk

sbutler@boltonstcatherinesacademy.org.uk

jwhittaker@boltonstcatherinesacademy.org.uk

 

 

Year 8 Options

Letter sent home 20th January 2022

Click here for pdf version of this letter - Options Parent Letter - Jan 2022

 

Dear Parent/Carer,

As you may be aware it is at this point in Year 8 that students select their options for Key Stage 4. They make these choices at this stage to ensure that students can continue to study a wide range of subjects, whilst enabling them to start to tailor their subjects to suit their chosen future pathways.

Usually we would hold an ‘Options Evening’, where you would be able to come into school to have the process explained to you, and talk to the teachers of the different subject areas, to help make an informed decision. Unfortunately, this year we are unable to hold that event.

Instead, we will provide events in school for students and an online information event for parents. Students had an options assembly earlier this week to introduce them to the process. They will receive their options booklet containing all the information about the process and subjects next week, before having a marketplace event after school on Wednesday 26^th January where they can meet teachers and ask questions. This event will run from 2.25 to 2.45 so students may be slightly later home.

Students should bring the options booklet home, but you can also read the booklet electronically at this link:

Year 8 Options Booklet 2022

 

Parents Online Information Event

To give you all the information that you need to support your child in the process, I will be running an online event, via zoom, on Thursday 27^th at 5pm. It will last about 30 minutes. The link for that event is below, you do not need to register in advance.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/92273760896?pwd=M2taM1lJTjFiVXhiQm10T2VrSDE5UT09

Meeting ID: 922 7376 0896

Passcode: mh5202

 

How the process works

1.  All students will study that below subjects as part of their core GCSE curriculum:

• English (Literature and Language)
• Mathematics
• Science.

2.  They will also complete these mandatory subjects where there is no examination and will not lead to a qualification:

• Religious Education (RE)
• Physical Education (PE).

3.  Students will then study either:

• History or
• Geography

(in a small number of cases students will study Travel and Tourism)

4. Finally, students are to pick five subjects from the remaining subjects being provided, and will be assigned three of those subjects.

 

What happens next

Once students have been to the marketplace and you have attended the online event, you will be able to log into a website to pick the options online. You will receive a letter in the next week with a link and log in details for that website. Please keep that safe.

Over the next two weeks, please take some time to read the booklet with your child, and discuss their choices, and then complete the options online. The deadline for completing those options online is 5^th February.

During February, every Year 8 student will have a meeting with a senior member of staff to discuss their options. You will be sent a message via the app or SMS to notify you of when the appointment is, and you will be able to join via phone should you wish to.

We are here to support students in making the right decisions for their future, if you require any further information please get in touch. 

 

Yours sincerely

Mr Ward                                  

Deputy Headteacher